Too elitist for voters?
Swift and Beyoncé are said to be to blame for Kamala Harris' defeat
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When Taylor Swift publicly announced that she would vote for Kamala Harris in the US presidential election, the Democrats were initially very happy. After losing the election, the singer now becomes a scapegoat.
“I will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election,” Taylor Swift announced on Instagram in September. The democratic party's rejoicing must have been great. After all, the singer has over 283 million followers and the Swifties are known to do anything for their idol. Hopes that Swift's positioning could have a positive impact on the election results were high among Democrats.
The publicly shown support of superstars such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen and Jennifer Lopez should also “motivate and mobilize” voters who are still undecided to cast their vote, Harris' campaign team said. But despite a lot of prominent support, in the end the Republican Donald Trump won clearly.
Despite – or because of? The US online portal “The Hill” is now speculating that Swift, Beyoncé and Co. are partly to blame for Trump being allowed to move into the White House again. Insiders close to the Democratic Party told the magazine that “the party needs to say goodbye to its fascination with Hollywood and A-list celebrities.” And also the idea that their support could help the Democrats. “Somehow we think that having Beyoncé on stage will solve all our problems. What people don't realize is that it actually makes the problem worse. It reinforces the impression that we are the party of the elites, that we “Don't understand what working-class people are going through,” a Democratic strategist told The Hill.
“Voters don’t listen to Hollywood celebrities”
This is also confirmed by Jennifer Brubaker, a professor of communication at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The fact that Trump emphasized in his campaign that he was against elites and even wanted to fight them would have struck a chord with voters. ESPN sports anchor Stephen A. Smith speculated on his podcast that the average voter views “celebrities who are worth hundreds of millions, if not billions” as “out of touch” and assumes they are ignorant of harsh reality.
In a post on the social platform “Hollywood is great for entertainment but far removed from their concerns when it comes to voting,” Penn said.
Trump, who has been a TV celebrity for over 40 years thanks to the show “The Apprentice,” relied on stars in his campaign who are no longer part of the A-list. He received support from wrestler Hulk Hogan and singer Kid Rock.
